Love Yourself: Believe in Your Goodness

Updated on November 28, 2010

Today, commit to love yourself and believe in your
goodness. How many of us truly believe
in the inherent goodness that reside within us and in other people? We do believe most of the time and then
things happen that make us think twice.

Let me share to you a story about this four year old boy.
Let’s call him Nick. (Names have been
changed to protect privacy.)

Nick’s countenance spelled trouble. He had a bad temper and when he couldn’t get his
way, he would kick and bite! Digging
into his background, it was not surprising he was this way. Parents were separated so he was raised by
different relatives. We surmised he was
feeling neglected and unloved at home.
There was this anger in his eyes and his scowl was fierce. He hardly smiled.

Love Yourself and Believe in Your Goodness

One day, his teachers’ saw him grab the collar of his
classmate in an attempt to get his way.
As a consequence for his behavior, he was asked to sit at the back until
he was ready to join the next activity. He
didn’t like it. In a flash, he responded
by biting the teachers’ leg. The bite
caused an ugly bruise and tears flowed from the teacher’s eyes as it was really
painful.

It was upsetting! He
was removed from the class and brought to the clinic to face what he had
done. He was shouting “no” all the
way. A good hour was spent rubbing his
back and telling him that nobody was mad at him and that people believed in the
goodness inside him. How he needed to
control himself and not harm others when he couldn’t get his way. But still he needed to look at the bruise so
he could see the effect of what he had done and he needed to say sorry to his
teacher. He stubbornly refused.

That incident triggered a lot of emotions from the people
around him.

Despair spoke, “He is such a difficult child to deal
with. I no longer know what to do. I’ve tried everything but it’s not
working.”

Hopelessness exclaimed, “If he doesn’t improve, chances are
he will continue to pick up fights along the way and always end up in the
principal’s office. Worse, he might grow
up to be a hardened criminal.”

Stubbornness declared sighing, “The funny thing is that I
got so mad at him for being so stubborn.
And then I realized I was looking at my own self.”

Love replied calmly.
“Well, we can’t give up on him.
As long as he is under our care, let’s find a way to help him. Let’s be firm and consistent with the rules
and praise him quickly when he does something good. No matter what he does, we will continue to
remind him that he is loved.”

Today, commit to love yourself and believe in your
goodness. At that point, everyone simply
had to believe that a person is inherently good within and has the capacity to
change for the better. Love was
reminding us gently with this truth.

Everything went smoothly for the next week until another
incident occurred. Nick had erupted in
class again. When most of the kids had left,
discussions ensued. It was a difficult
task trying to talk to him in a calm way when he was behaving like a wild
animal, shouting, screaming, kicking, and even pulling hair!

Anger wanted to butt in and give him a piece of his mind but
Love whispered softly, “He needs to go through this." Amidst it all, the revelation came, it was no good fighting anger with anger.

“Nick, control yourself.
We know you can do it. You have
been doing it for the past few days and we are very proud of you. Remember we told you that you have a really
beautiful smile and how you should smile more often. Oh but look at you now. If you look at the mirror, we don’t see that
beautiful smile.” Nick kept struggling
and twisting his body in an attempt to escape.
He refused to look at the mirror keeping his eyes shut tight. “No matter how much you will kick us or pull our hair, we will not kick or fight you back. Remember we love you. Your teachers love you. Even your classmates love you; right, Rachel?”

Rachel went near him and spoke up, “Yes Nick, we love you. But please listen to teacher.” Another classmate had also come near them.
There was no fear in their eyes. There
was no condemnation. There was just love
in acceptance of what is and who you are.

“See even your classmates love you. We believe in you. We know that you are a good boy.” Nick had stopped struggling. Many eyes were wet with tears as the kids
affirmed their love too.

Since he was already calm, the others slowly left the
room. One of the teachers took a peek
later and saw Nick holding the mirror and looking at his face. What did he see? Did he believe that he was good? That he was loved?

That was the breakthrough we needed. Love was right. He needed to go through that experience to know that no matter what, he was still accepted and more importantly, loved.

In the next coming days, we saw how love worked
miracles. In that space of unconditional
love, Nick had transformed beautifully, wonderfully! He smiles a lot now and he has no longer that
aura of anger. He can control himself
more and more by not biting or hitting those around him if he doesn't get what he want. Love had transformed
Nick. And love had transformed us. We have been blessed by this angel in our
life.

Today, commit to love yourself by believing in your inherent
goodness. And in doing so, you will be able to create a space to help others see the goodness within them too.

Comments 73 comments

Quakers believe in "That of god in everyone". I think the secret is to train yourself to see it in others then others will see it in you.

Minnetonka Twin 6 years ago from Minnesota

ripplemaker-I just want you to know that you just made my day. I love your writing style and I love the message in this hub. What a great reminder for all of us to be patient when others are struggling instead of hooking into our own emotions. This is such a beautiful story and I thank you for sharing it with us:)

Cagsil 6 years ago from USA or America

Hey Michelle, that was a pretty cool article. There are plenty of people who lack the understanding of loving themselves, so trying to show it to a child can be, more often more difficult. Myself, I didn't start to love myself until I was in my early 30's, but had a pretty stable home environment. I've did have a few abusive years, which I wrote about in one hub, because my parents divorced when I was really young.

It was a troubling time in my life, but a lot of the words my father and mother had given me, echoed in my head, so I was able to control my anger issues as a child. Thank you for sharing. :)

SweetiePie 6 years ago from Southern California, USA

Great message Michelle!

dayzeebee 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines

Michelle dear, I knew this hub would be beautiful -- even beyond it. It captures the depth of our campaign and my heart is full of pride for the manner in which you accomplished your task. I can sense all the emotions you went through as you wrote it and I know much healing is taking place within you too.

I am proud of you and your teachers and your school. I would like to shout out to the world that HEY this is one school that not only teaches love but lives it!

Onward to loving our self for goodness sake! Hugs:)

VioletSun 6 years ago from Oregon/ Name: Marie

This made my eyes wet! The story of little Nick and how love transformed him is very inspirational. It is true,that inherent in everyone there is goodness. Whenever I read articles like this one, my faith in mankind raises!

Hugs and onward with this awesome campaign. Enjoyed the youtube, you and Daisy are doing very good work!

heart4theword 6 years ago from hub

Your story tells me that, how can a person love...until they have been loved:) I have seen some children, that like nick, did everything to anoy people...only to see if they would accept them, no matter what. They wanted someone, to show them..unconditional love:) Another good hub, ripplemaker:)

FloBe 6 years ago from British Columbia, Canada

Thank you for sharing this with us...indeed, love breaks through the hardest of hearts. Sometimes it is hard to keep loving till the breakthrough comes. Amazing story.

okmom23 6 years ago from Midwest, U.S.A.

Heartwarming story! Unconditional love is so important to show children. Great article!

Hello, hello, 6 years ago from London, UK

Great story and a good example. Thank you for a wonderful hub.

Scribenet 6 years ago from Ontario, Canada

I agree this is a heartwarming story! If everyone had unconditional love in their lives, what an improved world it would be. Great Hub!

giri73 6 years ago

hi ..!

you 've quite created a ripple in my mind;

i am just wandering around the web ;

just starting a hub .

without knowing what to do ..

but , your writing is good and creates a sense of being in me.

keep it ripple ;

your smile is funny without any wrinkle.

giri

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Alex, that is a wonderful thing to do...to see god in oneself and in everyone.

Minnetonka Twin, thank you so much for reading this hub and sharing the triumphs of life with me.

Cagsil, hugging you dearly for sharing your heart here. You have grown from your challenges and I know you will bless more people with what you have learned all these years.

Sweetie Pie, I appreciate your presence here. Thanks!

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Dayzeebee, it has been a joyous journey of growing and loving and I am glad to do it with you! Every time I look back, I count my blessings and am deeply grateful for all those who have given me unconditional love. I too have healed. Love and blessings to you. Onward to our campaign! Yay!

Violetsun, me too Marie, me too. My faith increases and it helps me be a better person. Thank you so much for your support and love. It is deeply appreciated more than you will ever know. Blessings to you dear sis!

Heart4theword, yes so true, we sometimes need to desperately believe that we can truly be loved unconditionally. It is healing indeed.

FloBe, it can be so challenging esp. when we are caught up with our pain as well. But one cannot fight anger with anger, it will futile. In the end, love won. Thanks for being here.

Okmom, indeed it is so crucial for kids to experience this love. Thanks.

Hello, hello, an inspiration does come when we need it the most. Thanks.

Scribenet, what a world it would be...a beautiful one! :)

Giri, I'm glad it brought you to a place of joy and hopefully creativity too. Good luck in your writing a hub.

CMHypno 6 years ago from Other Side of the Sun

Beautiful hub, ripplemaker, unfortunately too many of us do not love and appreciate ourselves enough. Thanks for the great reminder that love starts within ourselves

Craan 6 years ago from Florida

It is so important to treat children with special care. They don't know any better especially if they feel unloved at home. A child's mind is a tender sponge and is super impressionable.

Love, gentleness and a feeling of unconditional love can work a miracle in a child's life that creates a lifetime of good memories.

samsons1 6 years ago from Tennessee

what a good inspirational read...

claptona 6 years ago from Earth

Interesting post ripplemaker.

Just to keep myself in line, Cain did not have to be taught about not telling God the truth about killing Able, he lied and learned that all by himself.

Same with me, I will lie unless I have learned principles that keep me in check.

A child does not have to be taught to lie, he has to be taught honesty and truthfulness, what is right and what is wrong.

I always keep that in mind when dealing with others - inherently, man is evil, and unless you are dealing with a person who has principles, then the evil will always win out.

An inherent flaw in many politicians - trying to convince the populace that they are good - that is why we have laws - to punish the many that do not know the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

These things are not subjective - they are laws that have ruled humans for many a years. It is the bastardization of those laws that have created the problems the world faces today.

God is outside most people. It is the rare individual that truly has God inside him.

Cheers

original010 6 years ago from Egypt

Good of you to write this inspirational hub, and the story is so true, it happens to some people, young or old. without loving and believing in ourselves we can't have inner peace.

2patricias 6 years ago from Sussex by the Sea

Beautifully written. We both firmly believe that it is necessary to begin by loving oneself. If a person does not love him/herself, then they cannot truly love others. Sometimes this is very difficult because of a number of factors - such as getting into the habit of thinking negative thoughts, seeing the worst of ourselves, etc.

Beautiful hub!

WestOcean 6 years ago from Great Britain

An inspirational hub. Thanks.

Dee Duckett 6 years ago

Without loving yourself, how can one possibly love anyone else, really?

Nellieanna 6 years ago from TEXAS

Excellent! It's not difficult to see the good if one is attuned to it. When it hides at times, it only emphasizes that a perfectly human being is not perfect, and makes his/her goodness all the more precious. How tiresome it could become with no contrast to remind us of all we have for which to be thankful!! Thank you for a lovely hub reminding me.

salt 6 years ago from australia

thankyou michelle, much needed today. Made me smile!!!

K9keystrokes 6 years ago from Northern, California

This is a very inspiring read. The love of self; nice to be reminded about this once in awhile, thanks. Excellent read. Up and awesome.

K9

shazwellyn 6 years ago from Great Britain

This is a lovely expression of love by example. All sparks of anger die out in the end when you whisper love and kindness.

Thank you for spreading more love in the world - it is, indeed, abundant! x

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

CMHypno, Daisy and I observed that too and also with our own personal journey. And with this in our hearts and minds, we will try to spread this love. Thank you for being part of it all.

Craan, your words resonate with me. Thank you for sharing a very hopeful message.

Samsons1, thanks so much.

Claptona, yes we have learned stuff all through out our lives and we need to keep on learning and unlearning and learning some more. I pray that we begin to learn to allow the divinity within us shine more and more. Thank you for sharing a different perspective.

Original, ah yes blessed peace, I have sought that for so many years and yes, it did happen when I started to love myself.

2patricias, you are so right about it being a challenge and it all starts with awareness and learning to shift when we notice how negative our thoughts are going. Thanks for the lovely comment.

West Ocean, thanks.

Dee, yes how could we possibly? So true.

Nellieanna, thank you for a very insightful comment. Your wisdom shines. Blessings.

Salt, I'm so glad it made you smile. Hugs..

K9, thanks so much for the thumbs up!

Shazwellyn, and thank you for expressing this love here today in this hub.

To all of you who have graced this hub with your presence (whether you have left a comment or not), I thank you dearly for affirming my belief that deep down, inherently we are good. We are not perfect and we make mistakes (a lot of them) and yet our being is one of goodness. Keep this love shining brightly and then share this love to those around you. Blessings and love and light to one and all. :)

Eiddwen 6 years ago from Wales

This was a beautiful and sensitive hub. It was so well written and oh so true.

No matter what we are going through in our lives we are not the only ones. That doesn't make our problems any less but does drive home the knowledge that maybe we could help one another.

A very healthy approach I think. However after saying this we do have the right to cope with our pain in ways that are suited to ourselves.

Thank you so much for sharing this hub and I am so glad that a very big difference was made to one little boy's life.An up and awesome/beautiful here.

Take care and God Bless.

My Digest 6 years ago

I was teary eyed reading this story. It just touched me deeply that we can give that space you wrote about for people to feel unconditional love. Thank you so very much for this inspirational piece. I can rest tonight with a smile in my heart. I join you in your campaign..it is a beautiful one.

6 years ago

Very inspiring hub. You describe this very well. You touch my heart with your kindness. I always love my self, because this is the best gift for me. Every kindness come from our heart and it always be forever. Cheers!

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Eiddwen, thank you for your heartwarming comment. Blessings to you as well.

My Digest, oh thank you for joining us in our campaign. That is absolutely fantastic. Happy that you could rest with a smile on your face :)

Anonymous, kindness is love shared. I thank you deeply for such an encouraging comment. Love and light to you.

Om Paramapoonya 6 years ago

Okay, I love me and believe in my evilness...oops I mean goodness! hehehe Great story. It was an enjoyable read. :)

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Hahahha thanks Om....nice to hear from you!

prasetio30 6 years ago from malang-indonesia

Very inspiring, my friend. I always love my self and all goodness is come from God. I am glad if my goodness is useful for others. Very inspiring hub. Thank you very much.

Blessing and hugs,

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

prasetio, thank you for your affirmation! Indeed I too believe all goodness comes from God. Continue to share your goodness to others. Blessings to you too my friend!

MPG Narratives 6 years ago from Sydney, Australia

Beautiful words and a beautiful story ripplemaker. We should all practice love everyday and give someone who needs it a helping hand or a hug. Hugs to you. :)

tonymac04 6 years ago from South Africa

A wonderful, enjoyable and inspirational Hub. Thanks you.

Love and peace

Tony

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

MPG Narratives and tony, thank you for dropping by and sharing the joy of goodness that we all share. Love and peace and blessings to both of you.

Green Lotus 6 years ago from Atlanta, GA

Just beautiful Michelle. Love is always the answer. Couple that with a "never give up" attitude and you'll spell success.

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Green Lotus, it is wonderful having you here and sharing with me the joy of love and goodness....cheers!

KoffeeKlatch Gals 6 years ago from Sunny Florida

What a wonderful story. I believe it is important to look for the good in otheres. By finding the goodness in others you free others to recongnize the goodness in you.

fucsia 6 years ago

Great story, important message. A very good Hub!

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

KoffeeKlatch Gals, thank you for the lovely comment. :)

fucsia, thanks so much!

pennyofheaven 6 years ago from New Zealand

Very moving. Thanks!

Wooded 6 years ago

What a great message, thanks for sharing this!

Jeff May 6 years ago from St. Louis

My wife and I have been educators for at least 30 years. I used to be principal of a school full of "emotionally troubled" teenagers. While changing destructive behavior is difficult, your starting point is the only one I've found to have a chance at working.

ripplemaker 6 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

pennyofheaven, thank you too!

Wooded, continue to spread love wherever you go :)

Jeff May, I agree with what you said about this being the starting point of it all. Because only through consistent positive reinforcement can help change behavior and self limiting beliefs. I honor you and your wife for doing such noble work. Thank you for coming to this page and sharing your heart. Blessings :)

Ruchira 6 years ago from United States

Many a times, in this hustle bustle of our daily lives we put US on the back seat and when Circumstances in our life do not come out with what, we expect we stop believing in our potential and that leads to depression, insomnia etc.

You have explained this fact of our life beautifully by this wonderful example. Great Hub :)

mayhmong 6 years ago from North Carolina

That was such a sweet story. Some kids don't know how to receive love and attention unless they act out like a wild animal.

bayoulady 6 years ago from Northern Louisiana,USA

Very nice. The story about loving nick unconditionally was neautiful.

Denise Handlon 6 years ago from North Carolina

Michelle, this is a beautiful example of the patience that is shown through love. Unconditional love means just that-no conditions. What a wonderful way to approach this poor, sad and angry child. You stuck by and saw his good that he could not see or act on. It is a frightening thing for a child to lose the stability of his home. When everything else was going awry he found a place of support and love at your school. Well written and I voted it up. Many blessings for the heartwarming work you are doing with your school and projects!

Cheeky Girl 6 years ago from UK and Nerujenia

Aw, what a sweet hub, I enjoyed this. Loving ourselves is the first step in growing up and maturing as a person. I have noticed some friends of mine who are themselves starting as parents now: the ones with high self esteem have great kids, and the people with low esteem, and who are perhaps self-loathing are noticed by their own kids who spot this and exploit it and react some way to it. Some kids avoid staying home completely too. This is a great subject, and we should read more about it, Michelle. Thanks for a thought provoking article, as always! :D

WE5 5 years ago

In a word...'beautiful'.

Thanks for this Hub.

James A Watkins 5 years ago from Chicago

Thank you for this astonishing story. Love makes miracles. I savored this Hub. I love it. Thank you for spreading sunshine whereever you go.

Tatjana-Mihaela 5 years ago from Zadar, CROATIA

Beautiful story Michelle, thank you and very Marry Xmass.

KoffeeKlatch Gals 5 years ago from Sunny Florida

ripplemeaker, I just reread your article and I am still astounded by how much your story has touched me. I work with children like Nick everyday. It is an uphill climb but so worth the patience, time, frustration and everything else that goes into working with a child with anger issues. The silent, loving battle is worth all that you do. Thank you again for such a wonderful hub.

ripplemaker - Today as I went for my walk, for some reason, I began thinking about you. So, I decided to check out your hubs and came across this one. The title "lured" me in. This is one of my favorite topics, (besides music). I warmed up a mug of herbal tea, sat back and began reading your hub. The story of Nick is a marvelous example of the power of love...and you, ripplemaker are a wonderful example of love! Thank you for sneaking into my mind today. I may just keep you here! Rated up and beautiful.

ripplemaker 5 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Ruchira, thank you for expressing this beautifully..let us put ourselves in the front seat every now and then. It is good for our soul :)

mayhmong, lack of love does make us act like wild animals, lashing out because of the pain. Love heals. Thanks mayhmong for being here.

ripplemaker 5 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

bayoulady, thanks!

Denise, thank you for sharing your thoughts, this is something we are constantly learning-- loving unconditionally. And it is a beautiful journey. Thanks for the blessings...graciously accepted and returned to you double! :)

ripplemaker 5 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Cheeky Girl, thanks for sharing these experiences. You are right, who we are is what we give. So if we love ourselves truly and fully, then we can give that love to others and most esp. to our children. To our continued journey of learning and discovery. :) Love and light to you my friend!

KoffeeKlatch, thank you for coming back to reread this hub. It feels good to know there are so many wonderful souls who care. You are one of them. Love to you. :)

ripplemaker 5 years ago from Cebu, Philippines Author

Emeka, Kamran, jamestomerson, rahman, thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment! Blessings to you.

Vocalcoach, your words are sunshine to my soul today. What a marvelous gift you can give to another. Thank you for uplifting me and for being here and for loving this hub and the message that we all can share with one another. Thanks so much! Love and light to you. :)

imranhaider 5 years ago

nice hubs

ahmiz 5 years ago

Beautiful story. You truly are a ripplemaker!

glorgeousmom 5 years ago from Philippines

I feel so blessed to have found you here. Reading your hub rekindle and re-ignited my desire to love more those who are more difficult to love. As a human being we are bound to feel discouraged at some point in our journey to live and put into practice our Christian faith when sometimes we feel that our effort just seem to go in vain.

Thanks for the inspiration. May God continue to bless you as you have blessed me. Looking forward to reading more of your hubs.:)

jeyaramd 4 years ago from Mississauga, Ontario

I chose this hub as one of my top 10 hubs. It appears in my tribute to 100 followers. I just had to include this hub. Helping a child realize the importance of love and that they are loved is a beautiful endeavour. I loved the story of the child and the interactions with peers and teachers. I wish I had a scenario like that when I was a difficult child. Thankfully, I had a great mother who kept fighting for me. Thanks

RebeccaCurz 4 years ago from United States

The message is absolutely uplifting! Thanks for a lovely post -- I really needed this!

Thelma Alberts 4 years ago from Germany

Beautiful! What a great story with a happy ending! This is a very heartwarming story that I have ever read. I´m glad Nick had experienced love and had changed his attitude from bad to good. Voted up and very well written. Thanks for sharing.

Sangeeta C Pai 3 years ago from India

lovely story and thanks to the link to the video...A very Happy ,Safe and Healthy New Year to you...

MDavisatTIERS 3 years ago from Georgia

Thank you for helping people become aware. You have created a Hub with so many life lessons in it. I've worked for about 20 years with the addicted population - so many labels and so little self-love, even though self-centered.

Allowing that behaviors are not necessarily the person has helped me help them. I will celebrate 25 years in long-term recovery in September and would not have that had there not been people willing to love me until I could love myself through changing.